Jake Hanlon is quickly making a name for himself as a world-class guitarist and educator.  Having recently received his masters of music in jazz performance from the acclaimed University of North Texas School of Music, Jake is now on the guitar faculty at St Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia, Canada.  After spending years teaching private guitar lessons through music schools and conservatories, Jake is now confronting the challenges, and reaping the rewards, of teaching music in a university setting. 

Jake took some time off of his busy schedule last week to share his experiences as a young, up and coming performer and educator.

MW: How did you get your start as a guitar teacher?

JH: I was an undergraduate student when I started teaching lessons in my spare time to make some extra money.  I have to admit that I really didn’t know what I was doing, but I was dealing with mostly teenage students wanting to learn Pop/Rock, which was something I felt qualified to do.

When I finished my Bachelors I moved to Halifax Nova Scotia and worked for the Canadian Conservatory of Music.  I taught there six days a week for two years.  I had upwards of seventy students at one point.  It was a good system for me since I didn’t have to do any recruitment and they gave me a room to teach in.  The Pay wasn’t outstanding, but the mass of students allowed me to make a living off of music, which was a goal of mine after I finished school.

MW: Did any of your teachers have an influence on your private teaching approach?

JH: Absolutely, I had teachers who were very demanding and pushed and pushed.  I didn’t take lessons with any level of frequency until I was in University, and it was a big shock to the system, but it worked best for me in the end.  I think that as a Teacher, you have to find the balance of what to assign a student.  Sometimes they need a break, sometimes they need to be pushed hard, it all depends on how deep they are into the music at the time.  I teach mostly very dedicated students now, and so I push them to the brink.  When they crash or have trouble keeping up I will let off.  This is how I was taught. 

I think also the biggest thing I learned from my teachers was to not focus on just what I am doing, to listen with bigger ears, and learn/study the full breadth of what happens on a band stand.  That is what makes or breaks a good performance and it took me a while to figure that out.  They taught me that you learn the most when you are actually playing, not when you’re practicing.  Practice is vital, it’s the grunt work.  Get out there and play as soon and often as possible.  I went from mediocre to one of the best students in one summer by playing all summer long. 

MW: As someone who has taught and gone to school in Canada and the US, what differences and similarities have you found between these two countries music education systems?

JH: I honestly did not feel many differences between being in the US or Canada.  There are cultural and academic differences that I can certainly attest to.  It was much harder to study in the US because of the cost of education in America.  Luckily scholarships and fellowships helped to lighten the financial burden.

Where I grew up, University was the default post secondary choice, and in many places in the US my understanding is that College is the recommendation in many cases.  I think people who I studied and worked with in the US were more aware of the importance of a solid program then in Canada, where I think students, however slightly, do take it for granted.

On the other hand, I did go to Grad school at a world renowned program and this probably gives me a distorted view of the “average” post-secondary experience.

Acoustic and Electric Guitar